I'll Find You
by KitaxHaku
Summary: Haitus Toph was kidnapped, but Zuko has found her at last. She returns to find her parents missing and only a single clue to find them: little marbles? Zuko vowes to help her, and they set off on a journey, earning each other's trust and heart. TophxZuko
1. The wood and marbles

Hello everyone! This is Kitaxhaku, bring you a good helping of Toko! YAY! So, this first chapter was really fun to make, and don't worry, it may seem a little angsty, but it will be really amusing and funny by next chapter. Ku ku ku...I love writing stories. Anyway, enjoy! And please review and tell me what you think!

-- Kitaxhaku

**_How had this happened?_**

A fifteen year old girl sat in a chair, her arms and legs chained up tightly with rope, her mouth covered with tape. And though escaping was impossible, she struggled to free herself, as she had been attempting for three hours now. There was a bump under her and the chair she was tied down to (due to her short height, her feet couldn't even touch the floor); the wooden case containing her was like a wagon, steadily moving with a horse pulling it. It irritated her more; they knew they had her. Her hair swayed at the middle of her back as she struggled more, the rope burning her ankles and wrists. She had to get out!

"Give it up already little girl," The driver said as his partner snickered, "There's no way you can get out. You're an Earth bender, not a rope bender." The two laughed at his joke while the girl only glared before attempting to free herself again. She didn't have time for these two jerks; she needed to feel the earth, she was going insane.

"Besides," The other guy said, turning back around so that his back was towards her, "You've been attempting to free yourself ever since we captured you…three months ago!" The two burst in to laughter again, and for a moment, the young Earth bender felt like giving up. Her shoulders sunk as her head swung motionlessly, tears forming a glass wall on her eyes.

It was true. She had been their captive for three months, ever since they attacked her home in the middle of the night. About ten men had come to take her captive, threatening her parents that if they didn't give them 'what they wanted,' they'd never see their daughter again. The parents were usually willing to do anything for their precious child, but now, suddenly, they struggled. What it was that the men wanted, this girl didn't know. But it was clear that the men still hadn't gotten it, for here she was, three months later, still moving from place to place with the vile men. She sighed. The man was right, even if she was able to free herself, where would she go? She had no idea where she was, or what was going on with the outside world. The only thing she knew right now was the wood caring her to another place. Her hands began to slip out of their determined fist positions, but then, she remembered the orbs she held tightly in her right hand, and thus shook away the feeling of weakness, gripping the small balls tightly.

_**I can't give up…**_

The girl lifted her head, glaring towards the two men, before returning to her struggle.

"Hey, cut it out, now!" The passenger said, irritated with the fifteen year old's strong will. "I said stop it!" But she continued, her wrists already bleeding. "Shit, she's bleeding!" He hopped in to the back of the wagon with the girl, and picked her up, lifting her body in to the air. "Stop it, you little—" The wagon swayed, and the girl flew from his grip as he staggered to catch his balance. The orbs she held so tightly flew out of her hands, and rolled back to her luckily.

The man stood up straight and yelled at the other man. "Hey, be careful!"

"It wasn't me! Some animal must have hit the wagon!"

"Just watch what you're doing!"

"Don't yell at me!"

"Shut up!" The two men argued, and the horse stopped as the other man rose to fight.

"Don't tell me to shut up!" As they began to fight, the young girl struggled to gather her orbs. They were her only hope, the only thing keeping her sane. There were four orbs: one blue for water, one clear for air, one green for earth, and one red for fire. They were her friends, they were she. She managed to quickly pick up the water, earth and air orbs, but the red had disappeared. She panicked, feeling around with her limited feeling until she heard its smooth shell rolling farther and farther away; towards the edge of the wagon. She wasn't fast enough, she needed her hands, her feet; to move, to catch it. She slammed her wrapped feet on the wood as hard as she could, and a sharp pillar of rock crashed through the wagon, and through the rope that had been holding her down for so long. The two men stopped fighting, and looked at the girl who stood up like a swaggering zombie, her eyes only focusing on the orb that rolled near the edge of the wagon. She stretched out her hand, reaching for it as she attempted to move quickly (regardless of her burning wrists and ankles). She bent down, grabbed it, and smiled before falling weakly. Surely one would expect her to fall _out_ of the wagon, and run for her life, but this girl was too weak. She couldn't think straight, she couldn't tell what was right or wrong. All she had known were the orbs and the wooden wagon for the past three months. As she fell, though, strong arms gripped her tightly, and picked her up lightly, out of the wagon. Her hand that held the orbs was picked up lightly in the man's own hand, and then was gripped tightly.

The two men gasped at the man's face, recognizing the nineteen year old lord automatically, and they whimpered, which caught the man's attention. His glare through a scar caused them to fall, and hug each other for comfort. They stood up again, though, and jumped out of the wagon from the front, grabbing the horse's reigns and jumping on to escape.

"Capture them and send them to the boiling point!" The scarred man yelled to his small army that was already chasing the men. "They get no mercy!" There was a cough from the young girl in his arms and a little shudder, and his terrifying face turned gentle as he pulled his jacket off from his shoulders, and on to his old friend's body.

"Are you alright?" He asked in a hushed voice. "We've been looking for you, Toph."


	2. The message of a mother's song

"Thank you for finding me, Zuko." Toph lay in a large bed, provided by Zuko, who was sitting on a chair next to it. He nodded before Toph closed her eyes and sighed. "If you hadn't found me…I would have gone insane."

"It's alright now, Toph. I'm here." Toph turned her head to the older teen, her tea-leaf-green eyes staring blankly towards him. Her relaxed face now turned in to an _upset baby's face_, as Zuko described it. Her cheeks were puffed out and her mouth was twisted. Her eyebrows dug downwards as she sent a glare towards Zuko.

"It's not okay at all!" Zuko blinked as Toph shot up on bed, raising her fist up in anger. "My parents would have killed the avatar three years ago just to get me back, but now they won't give these ten jerks something probably small and stupid to get me back?! Bull crap!" As she had her moment, she stood up from the bed, staggered a little, and then slammed her foot down and huffed in aggravation before Zuko chuckled. She turned to him quickly, and approached the other side of the bed so that she could lean towards him with a fresh glare. "What are you laughing at?" He stopped chuckling and looked at the young girl. She was still small and petite, but her hair had grown out, and her eyes seemed more mature, which didn't surprise him, seeing on how she had been kidnapped for three months. As she felt his stare, she crossed her arms. "Well?" He blinked, and then smiled, regardless on whether she could see it or not.

"Just reminiscing; you were always like that, weren't you?" Toph crossed her arms and sat on the side of the bed in silence. Zuko's smile slowly dimmed away as the silence dragged on, and then, he broke it. "We tried to get a hold of your parents, Toph." She faced him quickly, but then tried to gain her composure.

"Really? What did they say?"

"Toph…" He said nervously, "I said we _tried_…" Toph's eye widened as she twirled around to face Zuko. "They aren't at your house, or even in the Earth Kingdom. I've contacted Aang, Katara, and Sokka. They're all looking for them as we speak." Toph slammed her hands on the bed, startling Zuko. She got on her knees and lifted her head to Zuko to show she was obviously irritated.

"Tell them not to waste their time." Zuko blinked as the blind girl climbed down from the high bed, and walked towards the cabinet.

"What? Do you understand what you're saying--" Toph pulled a loose dress over the night gown she was wearing before grabbing the tiny orbs that she had.

"I understand completely, Zuko." She said, turning around to him so she could stick the orbs in his face. "Now, I need you to listen, other wise I won't be able to catch up with them in time." Zuko's eyebrows rose in surprise; what was this girl talking about?

"I don't understand—"

"It's okay, you don't have to, but I do." She lowered her hand back to her height before picking up the red orb (after feeling the kanji of fire on its smooth surface). "Do you see this marble? These are the marbles that my mother gave me on my fifth birthday." Toph waited for Zuko to take the marble in to his hand before she explained why she had the marbles. "When I was kidnapped and brought in to the fire nation, I was tied up and placed on a high chair—" Zuko cut her off;

"And since you are so short, your feet were practically floating in the air!" After a nice punch on the head, Toph continued.

"Well, while I was first kidnapped, and stuck _floating_ there," She glared at Zuko one more time before continuing, "I noticed that these marbles were in my pocket. I looked at them and remembered the riddle she said," Toph grabbed the red marble back from Zuko and continued;

_"When a river stops flowing,_

_East is where we fall._

_Along the coast is a sanctuary, for us all._

_Rivers guide the spirits,_

_East is where they head,_

_We are waiting_

_At the edge._

_I am standing there,_

_Till I see you again._

_I am standing there,_

_Never leaving._

_Go now my child, we are waiting._

_North of the East_

_Or East of the North,_

_Right or wrong,_

_Toph, we believe in you,_

_Help us come back to life."_ Toph finished repeating her mother's (badly written) poem, and Zuko tried to compliment it. Hint the word _tried_.

"It…It's a lovely poem…" Toph rolled her eyes, and stomped on the ground. A pillar came up and she started to dig in to the earth with her right index finger.

"It's a stupid poem, that's why I was confused when she kept singing it to me."

"It was supposed to be a song?" Toph punched Zuko's face again, irritated with his insults.

"Shut up!" After coughing, she returned to her 'writing.' "I thought it was a stupid song, so I kept repeating it to myself. Then, I noticed something." She finished writing what ever she was writing, and moved back so Zuko could read it:

"WE ARE WAITING NORTH"

Zuko blinked in surprise, and turned to Toph, who continued.

"The first letter of each row ended up spelling 'We are waiting north,' so I'm figuring that this is why my mother sang it so much." Toph turned to face Zuko, her arms crossed. "They were leaving me a message, since they knew we'd be attacked." She walked up to her tall friend, "Zuko, I think that my parents are guardians of something. I don't believe that they abandoned me so quickly for nothing. Something is wrong, terribly wrong." Zuko looked at his young friend and put his hand up to his chin in thought. As he turned around, Toph raised an eyebrow.

"Zuko?" She inquired. He turned back around and looked at Toph. She had gotten so clever since the war was over (three years ago); he was impressed. But unfortunately, Zuko had become more air headed with Aang's influence.

"You've grown up a lot, haven't you?" He said, and in response, she boasted, "but…you're still short." She was so sick of his insults, so she decided to shut him up, the old fashion way…

"Die, Zuko!" She slammed her foot down, and earth rose around his body, trapping him tightly.

"Huh? What did I do this time?" He asked in a yell. "You know, I've been abused by you since you woke up!" Toph hissed at him before spitting to her left, not letting her pale eyes move. "And don't spit on my floor!" Toph glared at him, ready to kill for real.

"You are making all kinds of mistakes, young fire lord…"


End file.
